Westlake Chemical (WLK) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know
In the latest trading session, Westlake Chemical (WLK) closed at $131.92, marking a -1.51% move from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.08%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.81%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.22%.
Coming into today, shares of the chemical company had gained 5.17% in the past month. In that same time, the Basic Materials sector gained 4.64%, while the S&P 500 gained 1.03%.
Investors will be hoping for strength from Westlake Chemical as it approaches its next earnings release. On that day, Westlake Chemical is projected to report earnings of $6.65 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 64.6%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $4.17 billion, up 46.01% from the prior-year quarter.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $22.94 per share and revenue of $15.33 billion, which would represent changes of +47.24% and +30.2%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Westlake Chemical. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 14.78% higher within the past month. Westlake Chemical currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Westlake Chemical has a Forward P/E ratio of 5.84 right now. This represents a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 8.09.
Investors should also note that WLK has a PEG ratio of 0.18 right now. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. WLK's industry had an average PEG ratio of 0.21 as of yesterday's close.
The Chemical - Plastic industry is part of the Basic Materials sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 242, which puts it in the bottom 5% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.
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